SL Discovery is looking for Bloggers! We currently have positions open for regular SLD Bloggers and for a Hunt Announcer. Applicants should be able to demonstrate the following:

- Basic SL Photography knowledge.

- Good grasp of English language writing skills.

A SLD Blogger should be willing to blog at minimum once every two weeks. Blogging is not limited and you are not required to blog only freebies or only clothing. If there is something in the SL Universe that you find interesting, we’d like to hear about it (however, please no mature subject matter). Images should be included in your blog posts.

The SLD Hunt Announcer position requires someone who is well organized.

No experience is required for either position. Please note, these are not paid positions but will be very rewarding to the right individuals. SL fame and fortune not guaranteed, but are certainly a great goal!

For any questions or to apply for a position, please contact Ikonn Giano in world. Happy Discovering!

~SL Discovery Management Team

Photo-Op on SLDiscovery.com is a semi-regular feature that puts the spotlight on a Second Life spot that makes for a cool place at which to take photos inworld. Not an entire sim, not even a complete parcel, but just a single specific location - a spot.

Flickr members: join the SL Discovery Photo-Op group and add your pictures taken at Photo-Op spots to the group pool.

!! -->> Take note that several of the previous Photo-Op spots are already gone or changed in a significant way that renders those SLurls ineffective as originally intended. Very little in SL stays the same for long, so be sure to grab these opportunities as they come!

Prepare to enter a world of intricate charm and fantasy as we step into Lothlorien Forest. It's a good place to don your high elf or fae to dance in front of your camera. Oh and just so you know - the environment here is so filled with splendor you might find it difficult to narrow the focus to your avatar; you might end up taking scenic shots instead. But that's okay, too. This is a great place for scenic shots!

You'll probably be eager to wander around, but before you go anywhere, check out the views right where today's SLurl brings you. No matter which direction you point your camera, you're bound to find a couple good snaps to get started. There are flowering trees and grasses of every color. Many of the leafy bushes are festooned with glowing garlands. There are bubbling fountains and flickering fairy lights. With luck, your avatar (or your model) will fit right in, so start snapping those portraits.

When you're ready to move on, move ^up^. There's a spiral stairway at the base of the nearest tree, so climb on up and see what there is to see from those new heights. Elven architecture and designs surround you. Everything is curved, rounded and helical, featuring organic lines that soothingly help your cares slide away.

It's not my fault if you end up spending a lot of relaxing, pleasurable time here. You can, however, blame Isablan Neva, the proprietor of Skybox Nirvana Tenth Muse Furniture and the master builder of this enchanting location.

As if the given environment won't keep you busy enough with photographic treasures, just wait until you see how the area comes alive through Windlight.

Yes, you are likely to be here all day, so be sure to pack a lunch.

Take lots of pictures, then take a few more. Try new angles, new Windlight settings, new filters or painting experiments. Lothlorien Forest has a lot to offer toward assisting your creative expression.

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(My lovely fae model is wearing Glow gown and wings by Paris Metro, March skin by Oddballs (Frakki Karu), Loreley hair by Alli & Ali, and Fly ears by Irischka Hotshot. )

Photo-Op on SLDiscovery.com is a semi-regular feature that puts the spotlight on a Second Life spot that makes for a cool place at which to take photos inworld. Not an entire sim, not even a complete parcel, but just a single specific location - a spot.

Flickr members: join the SL Discovery Photo-Op group and add your pictures taken at Photo-Op spots to the group pool.

!! -->> Take note that several of the previous Photo-Op spots are already gone or changed in a significant way that renders those SLurls ineffective as originally intended. Very little in SL stays the same for long, so be sure to grab these opportunities as they come!

Along the road in Belmondo, just over the border into Snow Country, sits a majestic build by Jenne Dibou called Chateau de KrisCar. Many of the objects here have a story to tell. The chateau, presented as an immersive educational art exhibit, features highly detailed walls and towers containing rooms (and even working elevators!) surrounding an inner courtyard.

If all works well, today's SLurl will bring you to the back of the chateau, setting you down on a wooden walkway several meters above the frigid sea with its floating icebergs. (If it doesn't go well, you'll probably be dashed on the rocks below. Just consider it another interesting virtual experience!) From this walkway spot, you get a great view of the sea, the back of the chateau and the zig-zag passage of the walkway itself. Naturally, this isn't the only photogenic spot in and around the chateau, nor is it necessarily the best, but you can start here then take your time exploring the rest of this build, ferreting out the angles that make your camera happiest.

As I played with Windlight here, I found I preferred settings that simply enhanced typical lighting without straying too far into the surreal or fantastical. But considering the many white surfaces of the building along with the surrounding white of the snow, there's a lot of room here for experimentation with color.

Here's a quick little postwork trick. You'll need two (or more) shots that are identical except for the lighting. Put the typical lighting shot on a normal layer. Put a radically-colored Windlight shot over it on a layer set to Luminance or Difference. Adjust the strength or opacity to your liking. This won't always give you something worth keeping, but when it does, the resulting lighting can be pretty impressive, well beyond what you can achieve with Windlight alone.

What sort of pictures will you find on the Chateau de KrisCar walkway? I look forward to seeing them in the SL Discovery Photo-Op group pool.